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British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of British Armed Forces. The British Army has seen action in major wars between the world's great powers, where it's victories in these decisive wars allowed the United Kingdom to influence world events and establish itself as one of the world's leading military and economic powers. The British Army has been deployed to a number of conflict zones, often as part of an expeditionary force, a coalition force or part of a United Nations peacekeeping operation.Wikipedia - British Army History Until the English Civil War, England never had a standing army with professional officers and careerist corporals and sergeants. It relied on militia organized by local officials, or private forces mobilized by the nobility, or on hired mercenaries from Europe. From the later Middle Ages until the English Civil War, when a foreign expeditionary force was needed, the army, a professional one, was raised for the duration of the expedition. During the English Civil War, the members of the Long Parliament realised that the use of county militia organised into regional associations, while more than able to hold their own in the regions which Parliamentarians controlled, were unlikely to win the war. So Parliament initiated two actions. The Self-denying Ordinance, with the notable exception of Oliver Cromwell, forbade members of parliament from serving as officers in the Parliamentary armies. This created a distinction between the civilians in Parliament, who tended to be Presbyterian and conciliatory to the Royalists in nature, and a corps of professional officers, who tended to Independent politics, to whom they reported. The second action was legislation for the creation of a Parliamentary-funded army, commanded by Lord General Thomas Fairfax, which became known as the New Model Army. While this proved to be a war winning formula, the New Model Army, being organized and politically active, went on to dominate the politics and by 1660 was widely disliked. The New Model Army was paid off and disbanded at the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660. The first English Army regiments, including elements of the disbanded New Model Army, were formed between November 1660 and January 1661 and became a standing military force for Britain (financed by Parliament). Chig War The British Army, along with the Royal Navy, are major components of the Earth Forces fighting the aliens in the Chig War. The British Army is deployed to all areas of the galaxy where Earth has forces trying to eradicate the threat of the Chigs.Pearly Units Assigned to the Earth Forces * Coldstream Guards British Army Organizational Structure Army Headquarters is located in Andover, Hampshire. The army's structure is broadly similar to the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, the Chief of the General Staff is in charge of Army Headquarters. There are four lieutenant-general posts in Army headquarters: the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, the Commander Field Army, the Commander Home Command and the Commander Allied Rapid Reaction Corps. Army Headquarters is responsible for providing forces at operational readiness for employment by the Permanent Joint Headquarters. The command structure is hierarchical, with divisions and brigades controlling groups of units. Major units are regiment/battalion-sized, and minor units are company-sized units (or platoons). All units are Regular (full-time) or Army Reserve (part-time). Naming conventions of units differ for historical reasons, creating some confusion; the term "battalion" in the infantry is synonymous with a cavalry, artillery or engineer regiment, and the infantry "company" is synonymous with an engineer or cavalry squadron and an artillery battery. Rank Structure Each regiment and corps has distinctive insignia, such as a cap badge, beret, tactical recognition flash or stable belt. Many units also call soldiers of different ranks by different names; a NATO OR-1 (private) is called a guardsman in Guards regiments, a gunner in artillery units and a sapper in engineer units. These names do not affect a soldier's pay or role. References Category:Earth Forces Category:British Army